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Give Me 3 Easy Changes that Won’t Cost Too Much

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“Just give me three things I can do to make myself healthier without breaking the bank,” he said. “If it takes too much time I won’t stick with it.” My bachelor friend Joe visited for dinner a few weeks ago and gave me this challenge, and I’ve been pondering it ever since. It’s easy to think of LOTS of things to change in the standard American diet, you see. It’s even easy to think of lots of easy things to do. It’s difficult to narrow it down to just three and to prioritize them properly.

It’s kind of like when I walk through my house most days. In the bathroom I see three things that need to be done right now, in my bedroom five tasks are calling my name urgently, the living room is filled with toys and I’m tripping on books in the hallway, but it’s lunchtime and the children must be fed or risk total meltdown.

As I build my mental list of tasks to do next as soon as I get a chance, upon entering the kitchen the list grows exponentially. Before I can get lunch I need to clear the clean dishes out of the sink, and when I grab an apple I realize the produce drawer could use a good wipe-down, gotta slice the bread before I can toast it, and – and – and – and… My “next on the to-do list” item has become twenty things, and although I’m pretty amazing, I can’t do 20 things at once. Oh, bother. And then there’s still the hungry children and lunch…

Yep. Sometimes the journey to better nutrition feels like that too. There are always so many changes to make or new things to try! It can be exciting and fun if you let it, but it can also be totally overwhelming, and even depressing.

It cracks me up that Joe reads Kitchen Stewardship. That’s what friends are for, right, but I don’t usually think of my demographic as single young guys. He tells me he’s been a subscriber longer than he wants to admit: “I read your stuff until I get too depressed, then I stop reading for a couple days until I get up the courage to go back…you’re always making me feel bad about all the bad stuff I eat…but it tastes SO GOOD!” (Joe, I’m sorry I make you sad! This post’s for you!)

Trying to Make a Small Change

Joe read my post on switching to butter and avoiding hydrogenated oils. He thought he’d give it a try, so he went to the store and stood in front of the butter. He said, “There wasn’t just “butter” (gesturing directly in front of him) there was “BUTTER!” (arms stretched out as far as his 6-foot frame could go, eyebrows touching the ceiling).” Poor Joe.

He knew “margarine” was a “no.” Then he started reading labels and relates, “All the “butter” had hydrogenated oils, and I thought that was bad, so I didn’t know what to get!” He looked at the “value” section because he’s a single guy trying not to spend too much, and there was…[insert singing angel noise here]: butter. Phew. But now – salted or unsalted? The choices never seem to end! He got unsalted. He did just fine. {Pat on the back.}

THREE Changes You Can Make TODAY to Improve your Health

When you’re ready to tackle your nutrition head-on, you can start with the Top 10 Kitchen Stewardship Habits. None of them are very hard, but they’re definitely meant to be taken one step at a time (and then there’s more to do after that). A lot of people say to get rid of trans fats and high fructose corn syrup first, then white flour and white sugar. That sounds like a list of four things to do, but it’s very complicated and takes a lot of little changes in what you buy and/or make to accomplish getting rid of even just the first two completely.

Today’s list can be done all at once, without making anything from scratch or changing your entire menu plan. It’s meant for serious beginners. You can even take the plunge right in the throes of preparing for Christmas when you’re really, really busy! The first baby steps:

A Little More Information

If you’re using margarine or a “spread”, you should make this switch to cut out both trans fats (anything that says “hydrogenated” on the ingredients list) and omega-6 oils like soybean and corn oil (in most spreads). You can use butter in the same way as the fakes, so the only mental energy you need to expend is figuring out where to find it in the store that first time!

Read about the health benefits of egg yolks and why you shouldn’t be afraid of saturated fat in whole dairy products. God created whole foods and man takes them apart. Put them back together, please. Again, no change in how you cook other than to buy a slightly different product that you use in the same way. If you’re scared of this one, try to release your fear of fat.

Buy plain, full-fat yogurt and add frozen or fresh fruit, honey, granola, even sugar if you have to. You’ll still eat fewer empty calories than the little sweetened cups, and the big tub is nicely economical. Make your own if you’d like. Beans can be from a can. Simple. See this post for ideas to integrate them into your week without changing your meal plan, including just tossing them cold onto a salad. Try to include them once a week if you rarely eat beans, twice a week or more if you already include them in your diet. Added Bonus: Beans are super frugal, and you don’t have to worry about the source quite as much as you do other sources of protein like meat and eggs. Browse my Recipes tab for lots of great bean-y recipes, and see this bean recipe round-up for over 60 from other people. (Also a beans and legumes ebook coming out February 2011.)

Have you already guessed that I’m the type of person who asks for two kinds of ice cream when I order a single scoop?

I realize it sounds like I’m giving you FIVE things to do in a post titled THREE things. I might be cheating a little bit, but I’m hoping that even most beginners don’t have to make all these changes, that most people are doing at least one or two of them already.Photo source and here

About Katie Kimball @ Kitchen Stewardship

I’m a Catholic wife and mother of four who wants the best of nutrition and living for her family. I believe that God calls us to be good stewards of all His gifts as we work to feed our families: time, finances, the good green earth, and of course, our healthy bodies. I'm the founder and boss lady here at Kitchen Stewardship -- welcome aboard!

20 Bites of Conversation So Far

I love it! I feel like I could just EAT BUTTER right now (my son is dairy intolerant, so I haven’t had any butter in over 4 months — he is 5 months now). I wish I could drink cream. What is your opinion on cream that is non-homogenized and pasteurized at the lowest legal temperature, from a local farm? Is it an acceptable substitute for raw milk? If I ever get dairy again I won’t do pasteurized if I can possibly help it. I did get raw sheep’s milk cheese to try and see if my son has outgrown his dairy sensitivity — I suspect he may have!

I try to get as much fat into everything I cook as possible. Any suggestions for doing so without dairy? .-= Kate´s last blog ..Homemade Diaper Rash Cream =-.

re: low-temp past cream. That’s a great option if you can’t get raw milk – personally, I think the grassfed and organic parts of my farm milk are MUCH more important then the “raw” part, but that’s just my opinion. I hope your son grows out of the sensitivity! 🙂 Katie

Kate, regarding increasing fat without using dairy – I use lots of coconut oil in my cooking and baking. If you get the one that is expeller pressed, it’s not as nutritious but it doesn’t have the coconut flavor so it goes with everything and is also less expensive. You can also use coconut milk in baking instead of milk for a yummy and high fat option.

Also, I use stock as the base for our soups, stews, and to cook grains – it adds amazing flavor and it adds fat. We also like to use nut butters and add nuts and avocados to salads. .-= Avivah @ Oceans of Joy´s last blog ..King Corn – a review =-.

how do you convert back to whole milk though? after drinking 2% for years after my parents switched to it, if I drink whole milk it tastes “off” (Same way with non-light mayo) – its one thing if I’m baking or cooking with it – but just to drink?

B, Slowly? Light mayo has more sweetener, so maybe that’s what you’re missing there. If you can take baby steps, go with full fat yogurt and sour cream and stuff like that first, and leave milk for last. 🙂 Katie

Katie – Thank you so much for your amazing blog! I just found it yesterday and I’m already forwarding posts to my family.

B – I just read Katie’s response to a reader on another post who disliked the taste of whole milk after years on skim:

“Perhaps start with cooking with whole milk, whole milk yogurt (divine!) and other ways where you don’t have to drink it. I totally get that the creaminess/thickness is a mental hurdle to get over after years with skim; I was the same way. All I can say is that now I just love the creaminess and wouldn’t go back – so take baby steps! 🙂 Katie”

I personally can’t imagine wanting to drink a big glass of milk…but I know when I’ve had to put whole milk on my cereal in the past, I added water. When I was growing up my mom transitioned us to skim milk by gradually working down from 2% to 1% then to skim…maybe you can do the same in reverse? – Jessica

Wow thanks so much! I already do the butter, whole eggs, and full fat dairy. The beans and yogurt will be a challenge! I tend to try and buy the nice big tub of plain yogurt every once in a while and I think I eat one serving and there is sits… So I don’t buy any for awhile. Need to really work on that one! Once I can get the beans and yogurt going I’m going to tackle your list of ten things! I’ve been trying to eat more real food, less processed, etc.. For a while and it is just so hard to get started! Thank you for taking the time to come up with these lists of three and ten things that are manageable baby steps for us newbies!

I’ve never enjoyed the margarines and butter substitutes so we’ve always eaten butter – the flavor it imparts as well as the health is too hard to do without. I use 1/2 and 1/2 for coffee creamer but switching to full fat milk will be a challenge for my daughter, she’s grown up on 2%, we’ll do it gradually.I already add lots of beans and legumes to our diet (such a variety!!) . I use almond flour where possible – yummy and full of natural fats, but it can’t substitute for my homemade bread – there isn’t enough gluten in it to get a decent rise. I focus on mostly what we put in our body, and I use primarily natural (vinegar, salt and baking soda) for cleaning products. One thing that really changed for me was using ‘fresh’ spices and herbs (available at Sprouts in any quantity) so I mix my own blend of poultry seasoning, grind my own fresh cinnamon, and grate nutmg into just about everything. the spices there are really economical (I paid $.97 for a little baggy of saffron! and just 44 cents for cardamom. I go to a farmers market on Tuesdays in our community and look for ‘organic’ fruits, veggies and also purchase honey there direct from the ‘bee keepers’. I purchase REAL maple syrup from the same maple grove my dad use to ‘sap’ as a young boy (he grew up on a farm!). The real syrup is pricier, but worth it for flavor and has no high fructose corn syrup. I do try to ‘cut out the bleach’ from cleaners but can’t get my whites really white, so a 1/8 cup of bleach goes in the washing machine. Also, manufactured synthetics aren’t as tolerant of hand scrubbing as the cottons and denims our forefathers wore. I try to keep my clothing 100% cotton or cotton/wool blends (my cousin owns a small ranch and spins wool and uses only natural products for color/dye). Eucalyptus oil is great for certain cleaning products, just use care in what you add it with to avoid the potential for toxic fumes. Helps dispel the scent of vinegar and the house smells so fresh and clean (wood polishing, scour the sink, etc). Lemon oil is also a natural product with a clean, lovely fragrance. And I love Lavender!

I have no fear of fat, but when I consume it, I consume it in the whole natural food it is a part of, never as an isolated, processed product. Any expressed fat or oil is nothing more than concentrated empty calories, devoid of nutrition, no more beneficial than any junk food. If you want the benefits, EAT the food it comes in. We can’t improve on nature!

When we try to sort things out, we seem eager to accept the latest research from the latest “experts” without taking into consideration that they often have a financial agenda that determines their outcomes. Unless we are scientists, it all sounds very plausible. What most don’t realize is that the meat and dairy industries are very wealthy and have incredibly powerful lobbies that pretty much “control” the information we get, and no, I’m not paranoid! LOL! Check out the facts for yourself. Good health to everyone! Blessings!

Please remember that I’m just a gal who reads a lot and spends way too much time in her kitchen. I’m not a doctor, nurse, scientist, or even a real chef, and certainly the FDA hasn't evaluated anything on this blog. Any products mentioned are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. Please talk to your health professional (or at least your spouse) before doing anything you might think is questionable. Trust your own judgment…I can’t be liable for problems that occur from bad decisions you make based on content found here.

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